A router is a networking device whose software and hardware are usually tailored to the tasks of routing and forwarding information, such as packetized digital data supplied by a packetized data stream. Routers can be considered to operate in two different planes: (1) a control plane, in which the router learns the outgoing interface that is most appropriate for forwarding specific packets to specific destinations, and (2) a forwarding plane, which is responsible for the actual process of sending a packet received on a logical interface to an outbound logical interface.
As the demand for electronic communications continues to increase, so too do the demands on router performance.